Monaco Formula E vs Formula 1: A comparison
A highlight of the Formula 1 calendar every year is the Monaco Grand Prix, the atmosphere of being track and harbourside in the principality is purely amazing. The world’s most expensive and flamboyant yachts pull up to get a peek of the action. Fans from all over the world flock to watch the most preeminent drivers battle it out for the podium. Formula E is no different, Monaco is still the peak of the calendar, with all the glamour of their fossil fuel consuming alternatives!
Monaco is known for wheel to wheel combat, making the race as exciting that motorsport can get. The action is intense, even with the lack of a high revving noisy V6s. To a certain extent, the lack of engine noise only amplifies the other elements of racing… the rumble strips seem to have an extra “boom” to them when the drivers hit them square on, the wind seems to hit you harder when you’re standing trackside and the noise of tyres marbling definitely is far more distinguishable, filling the void that I personally thought would be left with the lack of a traditional motor. I’d say that the noises produced by the new Generation 2 Formula E cars are oh- so satisfying, highlighting when the driver is truly on the limits of the car and the circuit!
One driver who has experienced both ends of the spectrum of racing is Felipe Massa, one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, however, in petrol cars. Massa has raced 269 Grand Prix starts and 11 Formula One wins to his name. New to the ABB FIA Formula E Championship though, this weekend’s racing at Monaco was his first podium.
Massa told Autosport that “the podium was a little later than I expected [it] to be”. Is this evidence that Formula E provides a different aspect of motorsport, with the need to stretch your energy consumption right up until the finish line. Massa rounded the chicane by the swimming pool with just 2% of usable energy remaining, leaving him in the difficult position of having to fend off against Pascal Wehrlein who was fierce on his tail. “I know what I can do and I am not here by luck, I am here for what I did in my career and I’m sure there is more I can do.” says Massa. We can’t wait to see how much further he can push the racing and bring yet a new mix into the Formula E lineup!
In the end, Jean-Eric Vergne claimed the victory in the principality, becoming the first repeat race winner of the 2018/19 ABB FIA Formula E season. In the end, only a 0.201-second gap was left between Vergne of DS Techeetah and Nissan eDam’s Oliver Rowland. Placing Vergne with on the number one spot of the standings with 87 points, only 1 point above his team-mate André Lotterer of the DS Techeetah team.
Overall, Race 9 of the 2018/19 Formula E championship in Monaco was outstanding, displaying the best that Formula E has to offer and truly pushing limits of the drivers, in one of the most beautiful locations that the world has to offer!
